A Biotech Lab In Every Garage, Or In Every Library?

SOPA Can Impact Companies Who Think They're Immune

from the not-so-simple dept

Tue, Dec 27th 2011 7:30pm — Mike Masnick

SpiderOak is an online backup/syncing/storage platform. If you're familiar with Dropbox, it's quite similar to that. In fact, when Dropbox ran into some very public challenges concerning its privacy setup as well as how it handles government requests, one of the "alternatives" we heard about a lot was SpiderOak. I haven't used it myself, but a lot of folks I know and trust suggest that it's a good product, with really strong security and privacy rules. The company recently sent out an email to its users, which (in part) discusses SOPA:

What is SOPA? This act allows content owners - movie companies, music labels, etc. - to obtain court orders requiring search providers such as Google to filter their search results to exclude websites that host allegedly infringing material, and requiring the net registrars to block DNS servers from providing the correct IP address for such sites. The act also makes site owners civilly liable for the availability of copyright material on their sites. In addition, it makes the posting of a link to a third party website that has copyright material on it the same as hosting the material on your own site.

What does this mean for SpiderOak users if this act passes? You don't have to worry. Our level of encryption means not even your filenames, file sizes or file types are readable.

They also include a link to the American Censorship site. That's all cool, and it's certainly reassuring that their encryption keeps things secret... but in saying that you don't have to worry about it, it seems like SpiderOak actually just put a huge target on themselves. After all, SOPA has a big fat anti-circumvention clause, which specifically includes calling out products that are "marketed for the circumvention or bypassing of measures" in the bill. SpiderOak may have run afoul of that by "marketing" its product as immune to SOPA because of encryption (a circumvention tool).

This is, obviously, not to question SpiderOak at all, but rather to point out just how ridiculous the anti-circumvention clause is. Obviously there are tremendously good reasons why we all should want services like SpiderOak, with their high levels of encryption. But just the fact that it advertises that shouldn't be cause to get it in trouble under the law.

And the larger point is that even companies who think they're immune to SOPA may discover otherwise, thanks to the way the bill actually works.

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Filed Under: impact, protect ip, sopa
Companies: spideroak

26 Comments

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TechdirtTroll, 27 Dec 2011 @ 7:39pm

BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH ... SOPA ... BLAHBLAHBLAH [nevermind the fact that I didn't even read the article and I can't substantiate anything I say] ... pirate mike, you support piracy and sopa is not going to affect anything legal at all ... it will not be abused only the pirates will be stopped you know .... mike supports piracy because he criticizes sopa and copyright law ... blah blah blah
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Eric Goldman (profile), 27 Dec 2011 @ 7:39pm

When rightsowners cut off its cash flow through cutoff notices, I bet SpiderOak will feel differently. Eric.
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Kenneth Michaels, 27 Dec 2011 @ 8:01pm

Dajaz1.com
Yea only illegal sites will be shut down. Just like how DHS/ICE only seized illegal sites. Oh wait DHS/ICE did wrongfully shut down dajaz1 and 84000 other sites. Guess we can't trust anyone who says that only illegal sites will be shut down. Stop SOPA.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2011 @ 8:17pm

But encryption will be banned!
It would seem that the only way to (begin to) enforce PIPA/SOPA will be to ban encryption and indeed privacy. The first thing users will do to get around the DNS blocking is to use alternate DNS servers, which will then be banned, next they will turn to encryption to reach the alternate DNS and so encryption will have to be banned. Notice I say banned rather than outlawed because they might strong arm the ISPs to do it for them rather than straight outlaw it (which would create serious constitutional problems and be even more politically unpopular).

We are well on our way to a dystopian "Neuromancer" style of Internet!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2011 @ 8:28pm

GNUPGP for me
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Loki, 27 Dec 2011 @ 8:29pm

Re: Dajaz1.com
I get a special chuckle out of the "what part of 'foreign site' don't you understand" argument, because we've all seen how well that worked in other legislation.

Although I suppose the "we can't tell you how many American websites we are currently blocking/cutting funding for because it relies on a classified interpretation of SOPA" might be a little harder to pull off when the websites actually disappear.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2011 @ 9:48pm

I guess it's time to retire.....
I seriously don't want to spend the next several years of my IT career trying to chase down why the CEO's email didn't make it to the customer because some stupid filter somewhere along the way.

These people have no clue how many man hours are going to be troubleshooting why legit business info won't make it properly.

I'm just waiting for the day they start shutting down VPN's between companies because of bogus claims.

They are gonna pay thru the nose......
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2011 @ 10:02pm

Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
You do know that this is an argument in favor of the bill under the "creating jobs" label the industry is attaching to it.
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VMax, 27 Dec 2011 @ 10:42pm

Re: Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
Hey! You may be on to something here.
Step 1) Make sure SOPA passes
Step 2) Charge %2000 more to make the net work like it used to.
Step 3) Use money to lobby for repeal.
Step 4) PROFIT!!!
Step 5) Wait 2 years, go back to step 1
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Jay (profile), 27 Dec 2011 @ 11:07pm

Re: Re: Dajaz1.com
Almost like saying the Patriot Act is only used against terrorists...

Oh wait...
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Dec 2011 @ 11:38pm

Re: Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
It's not value added work.......But you obviously have no clue how manufacturing works.
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Violated (profile), 28 Dec 2011 @ 1:02am

Rivals
It is true to say that most business's do not realise how SOPA can be misused and abused to target their business.

Even more worrying is that the attacker is most likely to be your business rival looking to damage your business for their gain. Your list of business rivals are a lot bigger than you realise. SOPA gives them the bomb where they only need to light the fuse.

Does that make you happy?
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mike allen (profile), 28 Dec 2011 @ 1:52am

This is once again as is pointed out by the "only foreign sites" clause being discussed here, the USA forcing its laws on the world where it really has no rights to do so. I for one if my lagit business is harmed not hesitate to sue the USA for ohhh lets see a figure larger than its national debt.
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abc gum, 28 Dec 2011 @ 4:37am

Re: Re: Re: Dajaz1.com
Need to use logarithmic scale just to view that graph on one page.
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abc gum, 28 Dec 2011 @ 4:40am

Re: Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
Good guy Sauron creates millions of jobs

http://imgur.com/gallery/rOG2p
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abc gum, 28 Dec 2011 @ 4:43am

Re:
Or - they could claim, as the US does, that it is an act of war.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2011 @ 5:01am

If SOPA or PIPA passes maybe that is a commerce barrier and can be brought up at the WTO.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2011 @ 8:47am

Re: Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
If ROI is reduced because more (labor) investment is needed to gain a return do you think this will cause people to invest more or less?
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2011 @ 8:47am

Re: Re: Re: I guess it's time to retire.....
(to gain an equivalent return *)
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TechdirtTrollolo, 28 Dec 2011 @ 8:56am

Re:
BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH ... SOPATROLLOLO ... BLAHBLAHBLAH [nevermind that I'm a troll and a moron who can't understand that my civil liberties are under attack lol trololo pirates like parrots. arrgh.]
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2011 @ 9:32am

Re:
This is once again as is pointed out by the "only foreign sites" clause being discussed here, the USA forcing its laws on the world where it really has no rights to do so. I for one if my lagit business is harmed not hesitate to sue the USA for ohhh lets see a figure larger than its national debt.

Let us know how that works out for you
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Dec 2011 @ 9:33am

Re:
This is once again as is pointed out by the "only foreign sites" clause being discussed here, the USA forcing its laws on the world where it really has no rights to do so. I for one if my lagit business is harmed not hesitate to sue the USA for ohhh lets see a figure larger than its national debt.

Let us know how that works out for you
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pahosler, 28 Dec 2011 @ 9:38am

isn't SOPAPIPA a Mexican confection?

n/m that's a sopapilla
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Hephaestus (profile), 28 Dec 2011 @ 10:56am

Re:
I was thinking the same thing.
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surveyor, 19 Jan 2012 @ 4:53pm

it will be
quite interesting to see how all of this plays out...seems that on some levels noone is immune..
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Marcin, 17 Feb 2012 @ 2:36pm

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1. Sign up under a referral link: https://spideroak.com/download/referral/48d0f6684c5fa8cb2b6a460bd6a2429f + 1GB free space (total free space 3GB).

2. Use COUPON CODE: worldbackupday ( https://spideroak.com/blog/20110330182326-eric-brian-and-world-backup-day-for-everyone ) + 3 GB space (total free space = 6 GB!)
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